Daufuskie Island Resort - Pet-Friendly Golf Vacations

Family golf vacations are nothing new, but the trend of taking the whole family along, four-legged members included, seems to be on the rise. In 2002, the Travel Industry Association found that 14 percent of U.S. adults have traveled with a pet. In 2007, Tripadvisor pegged it at upwards of 50 percent.
Still, as you might imagine, taking pets (dogs especially) on golf vacations isn't easy. While there are plenty of stand-alone hotels and motels that allow them, finding a golf resort that accommodates pets is a lot harder. Even tougher is finding one that is truly "pet friendly." There are plenty of places that will allow pets, but they really just use it as an opportunity to gouge you with all sorts of extra fees.
Not so at Daufuskie Island Resort & Breathe Spa, a two-course property located on a very small and remote-feeling land mass off of Hilton Head Island, S.C. While it does impose a modest, $35 per night pet fee, during our recent visit, we felt like our dog was truly welcome. We even tested the staff by letting her run leashless around the property, including in the lobby, and nobody ever scolded her...or us. continued...
By: Craig Better of GolfVacationInsider.com

The Best 1-2 Combo on a Myrtle Beach Golf Vacation

Whenever I take a Myrtle Beach golf vacation, I make sure to get down to Pawleys Island, which not only has some of my favorite courses along the Grand Strand (Caledonia, True Blue, the Heritage Club) but also some of my favorite Myrtle Beach restaurants.
The best one-two dining combination I've found is at Louis's at Pawleys (louisatpawleys.com) and the adjoining Fish Camp Bar, located on Highway 17 in the Hammock Shops specialty shopping/dining village.
Both feature the Lowcountry cooking of chef/owner Louis Osteen, one of the leaders of New Southern cuisine and named best chef in the Southeast in 2004 by the James Beard Foundation.
Osteen put himself on the map with restaurants in Charleston, but I'm glad he came back to Pawleys Island, where, in 1980, he began his efforts to popularize the indigenous food of the region. continued...

By: Craig Better of GolfVacationInsider.com

Orlando's Newest Golf Course - Sugarloaf Mountain

Orlando has done it again! Another fantastic golf course has been added to the area - Sugarloaf Mountain. This is Bill Coore and Ben Creshaw's first design in Florida. It's located 25 miles from downtown Orlando, in Minneola, Florida.
This 7057 yd. private course is open for some resort play. The course is typified by large sandy areas and native grasses. The layout is challenging but very fair. The dramatic elevation changes up to 160 feet are not your typical Florida golf course. The design is very old school and the use of the terrain is fantastic!
This is definitely a solid contender for top - 100 Modern status. The course is arrayed in two returning nines - front nine is a huge clockwise loop, back nine forms a looser counter clockwise routing that actually folds back twice to the clubhouse. Lee Janzen, a two time US Open champ says "there is not a bad hole out there, I look forward to playing here again in the future".
Once this course fills up its membership, public play will cease to exist. When planning you next golf package to Orlando, please include this golf course in your choices - you won't be dissapointed! If you have interest in playing this golf course - please go to http://www.golfzoo or call 888.333.6103 to book you next tee time.

The Best Courses to Play at Pinehurst

With eight courses to choose from, deciding where to tee it up at Pinehurst Golf Resort can seem like a daunting task, but it's really quite simple. While most all of the Pinehurst golf courses are worthwhile (they don't call it "the American St. Andrews" for nothing), the even-numbered courses, taken as a group, are the best bets.
After No. 2, the Donald Ross masterpiece that hosted the U.S. Open in 1999 and 2005, our first choice would be No. 4, a Tom Fazio design whose every hole offers unique variety, beauty...and challenge. It's dotted with 180 sand traps, most of which are small pot bunkers clustered near fairway landing areas, at the bends of doglegs, and around the greens.
Nipping close at its heels is No. 8, a slightly more mounded and rolling Fazio design built in 1996 to celebrate Pinehurst's centennial anniversary. Its greens lack the severity of No. 2, yet their subtle crowns honor Ross' memory and roll fast and true. continued...
By: Craig Better of GolfVacationInsider.com

A Transition to Luxury

I have stayed in hotels from Paris to Alaska and I find myself being very picky when it comes to accommodations. In the last year, the AmeriSuites Hotel has converted to the new and improved Hyatt Place Hotel. Using the word improved is a severe understatement. The hotels in Orlando and Tampa Airport are now a traveler's haven.
They have completely gutted the lobbies and remodeled them into a fun gathering place for their customers. One thing that has always made great sense to me is to have a bar and restaurant in the lobby of the hotel. It not only acts as a gathering place for fellow travelers, but also a melting pot for everyone. As you can see in the pictures, the Hyatt Place Tampa Airport has far exceeded that requirement.If the rooms are your benchmark in a hotel, than they have exceeded that requirement as well. All the rooms are completely remodeled with very comfortable beds and large Plasma TVs and "I mean large." Unlike some hotels that claim a total remodel and have fallen short, Hyatt Place actually did it. If location is your benchmark, they have snatched the brass ring there also. Located just minutes from down town and just three minutes to the Airport, it is centrally located to everything. In addition, a Ruth Chris Steak House is in the front yard of the hotel and a huge mall is just down the street.When planning your next trip to Tampa, make sure you look into the new and very improved Hyatt Place.

Birmingham-to-the-Bay Stops on a RTJ Golf Vacation

I'm starting my Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail vacation in Birmingham at Ross Bridge Resort, then heading south to Lakewood Golf Club on Mobile Bay. Is it worth the price to play both courses at Lakewood or should I go to nearby Magnolia Grove to play its Crossings and Falls courses?

Yes, we would recommend playing one of the courses at Magnolia Grove in lieu of playing both at Lakewood. Here's why:

First, you'll get a nice change of scenery and topography. Second, you're going to Alabama to play the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, right? Well, neither Robert Trent Jones nor any of his design associates did any of the work at Lakewood, as it wasn't originally part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

Yes, the original layout there, called the Old Course, was designed in 1947 by the great Perry Maxwell (who did Oklahoma's Southern Hills, site of three US Opens and Four PGA Championships), but rather than keeping the grand Old Course intact, Lakewood mixed and matched it with two additional nines, by Joe Lee in 1966 (to form the Dogwood Course) and Ron Garl in 1986 (to form the Azalea Course). continued...

By: Craig Better of GolfVacationInsider.com

The Benefits of North Myrtle Beach Golf Vacations

If you're planning on taking a Myrtle Beach golf vacation this year, don't slight the northern reaches of America's most popular golf mecca. This area of the Grand Strand (just over the border in North Carolina) offers a variety of excellent Myrtle Beach golf courses.
Most Myrtle Beach regulars might play one or two courses in the north before moving on to the more publicized links in the center and south, but we think there is enough good golf here and enough good reasons to warrant multi-day North Myrtle Beach golf vacations.
First, golfers coming from cold weather climates can shorten their drive time considerably by taking North Myrtle Beach golf vacations — it's not uncommon for traffic on Route 17 (the main north/south artery along the coast) to slow to a crawl after crossing the border into South Carolina. continued...
By: Craig Better of GolfVacationInsider.com

GHIN Great for Calculating Golf Handicaps

One of the greatest things about golf is that, thanks to the handicap system, players of widely differing skill levels can engage in competitive matches with one another. By allowing less accomplished players to subtract a certain amount of strokes from their score (thus eliminating the better player's advantage) a 26 handicap, for instance, can play against a five-handicap and have an equal chance of winning.
At your home course, it's pretty easy to determine how many strokes you are either giving to, or receiving from, your playing partners if everyone actively tracks their golf handicap. All you need to do is check the golf handicap printouts in the clubhouse or use the standard golf handicap formula (a quick-reference conversion chart usually hanging somewhere in the locker room makes this easier).
Everything changes, however, when you're on a golf vacation, because a person's golf handicap is based on the slope rating, or difficulty, of the course being played. So, more accurately, what's important is everyone's "course handicap," and the opportunity to pick up a stroke here or there isn't lost on anyone, especially during competitive buddy trips. In fact, the haggling over who gets how many strokes becomes a full contact sport that often starts at dinner the night before the group steps onto the opening tee. continued...
By: David Baum of GolfVacationInsider.com

The Crossings at Carlsbad

The Crossings At Carlsbad has just been named 'One of the top 10 courses you can play in the USA' by Golf Magazine and Golf.com. With the sparkling blue Pacific Ocean to the west and the Southern California Peninsular Mountain Ranges in the distance to the east, this state-of-the-art, 18-hole championship municipal golf course and event facility offers visitors magnificent views and a relaxing natural environment. Developed and owned by the City of Carlsbad, this public course is nestled among more than 1,000 acres of Carlsbad's coastal terrain and natural habitat. It's home to wetlands, sage brush and other plant, animal and bird life. On your next visit to beautiful San Diego, be sure to include it in your itinerary.

Florida Golf Limo Bus

If you have a group of 8 - 16 guys coming into Orlando for a golf package, have I got a great value added service. Florida Golf Limo Bus is a state of the art vehicle for any group. This Limo will pick up your group at the airport and drop you off at you destination. It will also pick you up each day and take you to your chosen course and bring you back home after the round.
They will also set you up with beverages of your choice - you can even use them for a night out on the town. The company will also keep all the records - games played, scores, handicaps and courses you have played. You will have this put onto a disc for you to take home along with the pictures you have taken along the way with the cameras they provide.

The Limo Bus is equipped to handle up to 16 golfers, their golf bags and luggage. The Limo Bus is equipped with two flat screen TV's with Direct TV, XM Radio, Wireless Internet and Wet Bar. Monday - Thursday, they have a 3 hour minimum requirement. Friday - Sunday, they have a 4 hour minimum requirement.So, if you want to take you golf trip to Orlando up a notch - you owe it to yourself to check out Florida Golf Limo Bus. Please mention Golf Zoo when you call them. You can also contact Glen, at 888.333.6103 to set something up.